


Given Time

by Pyrria



Category: Original Work
Genre: Earth is Space Australia, Gen, Humans Are Weird, Not Beta Read, Pursuit Predators, Tumbler Prompt, Vignette, death of a planet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyrria/pseuds/Pyrria
Summary: A chance overheard conversation had brought it hope. Perhaps it could obtain assistance. Perhaps it could rest now, finally, after the millenia and millenia of waiting and being overlooked.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	Given Time

**Author's Note:**

> "Given enough time, we can kill anything."

It could feel them, burrowing deeper. The pain was present but dulled. Much less than expected. The creatures were...considerate.

“Steady there. Keep that shaft open. Core breach in thirty minutes.”

They had left it a receiver, a primitive radio wave tower that relayed their efforts to their client. The creatures had explained it could also be turned off. If it did not want to know exact details. Or timing.

Time was all it had, these days. It was lonely. Resigned. It had been left behind so often, it had stopped counting. If it had ever counted before. 

But rest would not come. The predicted sudden changes had never come. The invasions had flown right on by. The preservation societies could find nothing of value to save. It had despaired of ever moving on.

“Temperature’s heating up. Core breach in fifteen minutes.”

A chance overheard conversation had brought it hope. Perhaps it could obtain assistance. Perhaps it could rest now, finally, after the millenia and millenia of waiting and being overlooked. 

The negotiations had been...awkward. Was it sure, the creatures wanted to know. This was irreversible. Was there anything, any piece, any memento, that should be recovered, recorded, saved? No, it had conveyed, anything worth mentioning had already gone. And it was sure. It felt lighter already, knowing the course was set.

“Easy! Back off, turn five degrees west, try again. This has to be timed just right.”

It had winced, but the pain faded quickly. The creatures were extremely talented. They had accepted the contract, surveyed the situation, deployed heavy technology to accomplish the tasks. And left the tower. So it wouldn’t be alone at the end, they had explained. It had felt a rush of gratitude.

“Alright. This is it, final burn. Core breach in five minutes...been a pleasure working with you.”

It agreed. It could already feel its consciousness drifting, reaching out across the stars, towards old connections. Memories flitted through its final moments, sensations and vibrations pouring forth in time to the machines burrowing ever deeper. It remembered the negotiations, the creatures offering their guarantee: _Given enough time, we can kill anything._

“Okay, that’s breach. Everyone pull back to the safe zone. Trackers on. Cracking in three...two...one…”

Admiral Miranda Val Nyn watched as spiderwebs appeared on the viewscreen’s image. They spread quickly, angry red streams spilling out and over and then cooling to dull black in a matter of seconds. One crack grew larger and larger, splintering off several others that grew in their own way and then - it was done. Debris rocketed outward, pinging off shields and spinning crazily into the cosmos.

“Well done everyone.” The Admiral shook her head. Yes, humans were deadly pursuit predators, able to track their prey to the ends of the galaxy and eliminate it efficiently. They had become known for ridding the galaxy of pests, of obsolete lifeforms, of mistakes of engineering. 

But this was the first time the Terran Military’s Medical and Engineering Corps had ever administered euthanasia to a planet.

**Author's Note:**

> So this came from a prompt I saw on the [Earth is Space Australia](https://space-australians.tumblr.com/) tumblr once. I had to just jot it down and it's lived in my GDocs ever since.


End file.
